Poste restante (French pronunciation: [pɔst ʁɛstɑ̃t], lit. 'remainder post'), also known as general delivery in North American English, is a service where the post office holds the mail until the recipient calls for it. It is a common destination for mail for people who are visiting a particular location and have no need, or no way, of having mail delivered directly to their place of residence at that time.

By country

Argentina

The Poste Restante service is run by the national postal company, Correo Argentino.^[1]

There are two possible formats for addressing the letter or parcel:

1) [Recipient's full name]

Poste Restante

[Post Office's Postal Code] SUCURSAL [Office name] [(City)]

2) [Recipient's ID number]

Poste Restante

[Post Office's Postal Code] SUCURSAL [Office name] [(City)]

There is no specified time period for the recipient to pick up the letter. Upon retiring, the recipient must provide proof of identity and pay a charge equivalent to a simple mail service.

Australia

Poste Restante (Counter Delivery) is a long-established service within Australia run by the national postal service, Australia Post, which allows one's post to be sent to a city-centre holding place. It will be held for up to 1 month and can be collected by providing proof of identity, such as a passport.

For example, for the Adelaide GPO (General Post Office, i.e. the main post office in the city of Adelaide) one would address a letter or parcel thus:

Recipient's Full Name

CARE OF POST OFFICE GPO Adelaide

SA 5001

Australia

The recipient would then need to go to the Adelaide GPO at 10 Franklin St to collect it when it was due to arrive or shortly afterwards. The approved abbreviation is "CARE PO". For outward bound international mail, the form "POSTE RESTANTE" is recognised. Mail that is not addressed in the approved form may be delayed for hand sorting. ^[2][3][4]

Belgium

Bpost uses the term Poste Restante (French), Postliggend (Dutch) or Postlagernd (German) which needs to be indicated on the post together with the name, optionally the first name, full name of the post office, postal code and city. The recipient has one month to collect the post, after which it will be sent back to the sender. A special tax applies valued at the price of one stamp of value 2. As of 1 March 2018 this price is €1.74. This tax is usually paid by the recipient but can also be paid by the sender.

Name of the recipient

Poste Restante

Full name of the post office

B-1234 City

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, mail is addressed to POSTE RESTANTE, which is written after the full name of the recipient as shown in their ID document or passport.

Name of recipient

POSTE RESTANTE

12345 City

Cambodia

In Cambodia, mail is addressed to POSTE RESTANTE, which is written after the full name of the recipient. Parcels and letters should contain a phone number, but recipients are more likely to get notified by phone for a parcel.

Name of recipient

POSTE RESTANTE

City

Postcode #####

Province Name

Cambodia

Tel +855 ### ### ###

Canada

Canada Post uses the term "general delivery" in English, and "poste restante" in French. Travellers may use the service for up to four months, and it is also used in circumstances where other methods of delivery (such as post office boxes) are not available.

Canada Post guidelines for addressing of letter mail stipulate that general delivery mail should be addressed in the following fashion:

MR JOHN JONES

GD STN A

FREDERICTON NB  E3B 1A1

where GD is the abbreviation for general delivery (alternatively "PR" for poste restante in French), and STN A is the station or post office (in this case, Station A). When the mail is to be delivered to a retail postal outlet, then the abbreviation RPO is used, and in French the station is indicated by SUCC for succursale, or retail postal outlet by "CSP" for comptoir postal. In the above example, the French version of the address would use "PR SUCC A" for the second line.

Croatia

In Croatia, mail is addressed to POSTE RESTANTE, which is written after the full name of the recipient (as appears on the identification to be presented ID document or a passport, if abroad).

Name of recipient

POSTE RESTANTE

12345 City

In Croatia letters received to poste restante address are kept in post office for 30 calendar days.

Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, mail can be addressed to the post office if "POSTE RESTANTE" and the full name of the recipient is included. To retrieve the mail, the recipient has to have a valid ID, passport, or a driving licence. The mail will be retained for only 15 days.

Name of the recipient

Details (such as – summer camp etc.), or leave blank

POSTE RESTANTE

12345 City

Denmark

Mail is held for 14 days.^[5]

Finland

Poste restante^[6] is offered widely throughout Finland in 425 post office addresses as of August 2020.^[7] In Finland, letters received to poste restante address are kept in post office for 14 days after arrival.^[8]

Before 1 April 2013, it was possible to use a nickname instead of real name and without providing an ID.^[9] In 2019, picking up mail from poste restante was to become paid service, but the planned fee was cancelled.^[10]

France

In France, La Poste offers the service for letters at an additional cost to be paid by the receiver^[11] Letters are kept for 15 days. The service is offered at any post office. The only requirement is to add 'Poste restante' after the recipient's name and before the full address of the post office.^[12]

For the post office of Paris Louvre the address would be :

Recipient's Name

Poste Restante

50 RUE DU LOUVRE

75001 PARIS

Germany

Deutsche Post offer the service for all mail items under the Postlagernd^[13] (General Delivery) service. Domestic items may make use of a passphrase instead of the recipients name if preferred. As a general rule, the item should be addressed to the Hauptpost (main post office) of the location.

Address Format:

Recipient Name

Kennwort: <passphrase> (optional)

Postlagernd

Post Office address

Post Office postcode/town

The phrase Kennwort: (Password) in front of the passphrase requires the consignee to specify the passphrase at time of collection. Items may be collected from the designated post office upon production of valid identification (e.g. Passport) and the passphrase.

It is important to use the term Postlagernd in preference to, or in conjunction with, Poste Restante to prevent returned mail.^[14]

Gibraltar

Royal Gibraltar Post Office allows letters and parcels to be received. ID is required for collection.

The address format is:

Name of recipient

Poste Restante

General Post Office

Gibraltar

Greece

In Greece you can send small parcels under 2 kg to the Greece post office.

Address Format:

POSTE RESTANTE

<Your Name>

<Post office address>

<Post office zip code >

<Town>

Greece

To collect your mail if it is addressed and stamped to you by bring your passport and ID with you.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, Hongkong Post is responsible for handling the mail and mail can be sent to General Post Office only.^[15]

At the address side, mark the mail with "Poste Restante" or "存局待領" in bold.

The address format is like this:

Name of recipient

Name of post office (optional)

Hong Kong

The name of recipient must be real and in full. No initial or figure is allowed.

Hungary

Hungarian post requires poste restante ("postán maradó") delivery to be addressed to specific post offices.^[16] Additionally, the postal service provides a "pick-up" service for web-based businesses where a business can ship to a pick-up point.^[17]

India

India Post offers a Poste Restante service of up to two months at various post offices throughout the country. Mail is addressed thus:

Mr./Mrs. SURNAME First name

Poste Restante

C/O POSTMASTER

GPO [for General Post Office]

City name

State name

India

Carry a passport or some other form of national identification to pick it up.

In India, letters are said to be held for around a month, up to two in larger GPOs, before being returned; so ask the senders to add their return address, or to use your own home address for it.

Ireland

In Ireland, An Post's Address Point service is ″a fixed address for those without a fixed home.″^[18]

An Post also offer Poste Restante, as a free service which allows visitors to a town to have their mail addressed to the local Post Office, where it will be held for collection.

Italy

In Italy, writing "fermoposta" together with the full name of the addressee and postal code will activate general delivery at the relevant post office. Letter post is retained for 30 days;^[19] parcel post is normally retained for 15 days, with an exceptional period of 1 month.^[20]

Japan

In Japan, the term Yuubinkyoku-dome (郵便局留め) indicates a Poste Restante mail.

The Japan Post Service guidelines for addressing stipulate that general delivery domestic mail should be addressed in the following fashion:

163-8799

東京都新宿区西新宿

新宿郵便局留め

山田太郎 様

(TEL 090-xxxx-xxxx)

For international mail,

Mr. Taro Yamada

Shinjuku-Yuubinkyoku-dome

Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo-to 163–8799 JAPAN

(TEL 090-xxxx-xxxx)

where "163-8799" is the postcode of the post office, "Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo-to" is the address of the post office, "Shinjuku-Yuubinkyoku" is the name of the post office, and "-dome" means "keep it there".

A poste restante mail will be kept in the post office for 10 days, identification is required for pickup.

Lithuania

In Lithuania, the words "Poste restante" or "Iki pareikalavimo" (used locally in Lithuania) should be made bold.^[21]

For local mail:

Name of recipient (in dative case)

Iki pareikalavimo

Name of post office

12345 City

Mob. tel.: 86xxxxxxx and/or (optional mobile number for notifying with SMS message about received registered mail)

email@address.com (optional e-mail address for notifying about received registered mail)

Macau

CTT (Macau) offers Poste Restante service (Posta Restante) to Macau's visitors or those who do not have a fixed residence in Macau. Upon collection, the addressee needs to pay MOP 6.50 as the administration fee (additional charges may apply). The recipient's address must include the words 存局候領 (in Chinese) or Posta Restante (in Portuguese). The addressee's name must be real name, in conformity to his/her name shown on an identity card or passport. The address format is as follows:

Name of addressee

POSTA RESTANTE

Name of post office or branch office

Locality (e.g. Macau, Taipa, etc.)

Macau Special Administrative Region

Malta

MaltaPost offers Poste Restante service from a post office in the capital Valletta for up to three months, after which mail is returned to sender. Prior to using the service, the person must inform MaltaPost via email, and a means of identification needs to be provided when picking up the mail. Mail should be addressed as follows:^[22]

Name of recipient

Poste Restante

Valletta Boxes

75, Old Bakery Str

IL-BELT VALLETTA

VLT 1000

MALTA

Netherlands

PostNL offers Poste Restante service for up to one month, after which the mail will be returned to the original sender (if provided). This service is provided by all Dutch post offices. Mail should be addressed thus:^[23]

Last name of recipient

First name of recipient

Poste Restante

Name and address of post office

The Netherlands

New Zealand

New Zealand Post offers a Poste Restante service of up to two months at various post offices throughout the country. Mail is addressed thus:^[24]

Name of Recipient

Poste Restante

Name of post office

Post office's address

Town and postcode

Norway

In Norway, Norway Post provides the Poste Restante service in all post offices. Ordinary mail is returned to sender three weeks after arrival. Parcels and registered letters are returned to sender after two weeks. Valid foreign identification for obtaining mail is limited to passports and European Identity cards. Mail is addressed according to the following format:^[25]

Name of recipient

POSTE RESTANTE

Name of post office

Post office's address

Post office's postcode and place

Poland

Mail should be addressed according to the following format:^[26]

Name of recipient

Poste Restante

12-345 City 6

where 12-345 represents the zip code of the post office and 6 represents post office number within given city. (In Poland every post office is uniquely identified by city and number, e.g. "Warszawa 1" or "Kraków 35". These numbers are used only when the post office itself is the point of delivery, e.g. mailboxes or poste restante.) There is no address of a recipient on the envelope, and if no sender address is provided, mail is considered undeliverable after 14 days. Every Poczta Polska office is valid target for poste restante delivery and the service is provided with no additional cost. All types of mail, e.g. letters, parcels and money orders, can be sent to poste restante.

Portugal

In Portugal, CTT provides the Poste Restante service ("Posta Restante") in all post offices. The mail will be kept in the post office until the last day of the following month after it was received. Mail is addressed according to the following format:^[27]

Name of recipient

Posta Restante Loja XXXXXXX (name of the post office)

Address of Post Office

Postcode and place

The recipient has to pay from €0,98 up to €3,01 tax in the act of receiving the mail depending on the weight.

Russia

The most widely available Russian mail delivery (state-run) company, Russian Post, provides Poste Restante services.

In order to collect a parcel, the individual is required to provide an ID document (usually a passport) that matches the indicated receiver’s information. Alternatively, an electronic signature (SMS code) may be used if the package’s tracking number is known. The parcel is stored for up to 30 days, depending on the type of mail. As of 2019, the packages delivered by courier may be stored up to 15 days and letters – up to 30.^[28]

The information on parcels should be as following (as per Russian Post) in order for the parcel to be stored:^[28]

Name of recipient

Address of destination (optional, may be omitted): city, street, building, entry (if any), apartment number

Postal code

DO VOSTREBOVANIYA / Poste restante

The Russian phrase «До востребования» may be used instead of “DO VOSTREBOVANIYA.” The phrase is a phonetic transliteration and indicates that the parcel has to be stored in a postal office (Russian: почтовое отделение, lit. 'postal division') until the receiver collects it. The storage time is calculated from the moment when the parcel was received by the office. Parcels with such marks are not delivered to the mail boxes.

Russian Post advises outgoing international packages be marked with “Poste Restante” in the same way^[28].

For incoming parcels, a certain fee must be paid if the package’s cost or weight exceeds the duty-free limits. Until early 2022, the limits were €200 and 31 kg (approx. 68 lbs) per package (regardless of the number of packages received over a time period). After Russian imports had been sanctioned following the invasion of Ukraine, the cost limit was temporarily increased to €1,000.^[29]

Serbia

In Serbia, mail is addressed to POST-RESTANT or POSTE RESTANTE, which is written after the full name of the recipient (as appears on the identification to be presented ID document or a passport, if abroad).

The example of address is as follows :

John Richmond

POST-RESTANT or POSTE RESTANTE

Sremčica

11253

Srbija

Upon arrival in the post-residual parcel section of the destination post office, the parcel is stored for 30 days, from the day of arrival.

Singapore

This service is only for the convenience of travelers to Singapore. The words "Poste Restante" or "To Be Called For" must appear next to the recipient's full name on a postal article.^[30]

Slovakia

In Slovakia, the post office will hold mail sent to an address containing words Poste restante, even when the full addess is specified.^[31] The post office will not notify the recipient about the delivery, and will hold the mail for 18 days, unless told otherwise by the sender. After that, the mail is returned to the sender.

To pick up the mail, the recipient needs to show their ID card or passport.^[32] They also may have to provide a tracking number.

Full legal name of the recipient

Poste restante

PSČ City

Slovenia

In Slovenia mail is addressed to POŠTNO LEŽEČE, which is written after the full name of the recipient (as appears on the identification to be presented ID document or a passport, if abroad).

Name of recipient

POŠTNO LEŽEČE

1234 City

In Slovenia letters received for a poste restante address are kept in post office for 15 calendar days.

Spain

Mail can also be received at Spanish Post Offices.^[33] There is normally no charge for the service. Poste Restante letters should be addressed Lista de Correos, followed by the address of the post office (including the postcode, town and province). Put the recipient's surname in capitals. An example Lista de Correos address is:

John SMITH

Lista de Correos

Pl. Rosa dels Vents 9

46730 Gandia

Valencia

Spain

To find the address of the Correos nearest to you, check at www.correos.es. Click on the Oficinas link for the Localizador de Oficinas.

When collecting mail from the post office you will need to show some form of identification such as a passport or photo driving license. Specify that you are collecting a Lista de Correos item as these are stored separately from the other stored mail. The Lista de Correos mail is filed alphabetically and it may be worth asking them to check if an expected package was filed under your first name if they cannot find it under your surname. Post offices vary in how long they will hold your mail.

When addressing mail for Spain, always ensure that there is a return address on the parcel or packet.

Sweden

Not all post offices offer poste restante. The address is entered using the following format:

Name of recipient

Poste Restante

123 45 City

Here, 123 45 represents the postal number of the post office. Post offices providing poste restante services can be located by searching for poste restante as "street address" in a given city (giving you a postal number) and then searching for post offices with that postal number.^[34]

Switzerland

In Switzerland, all post offices offer poste restante for free for up to one month. Addressing takes the following format:

Name of recipient

Poste restante

[street/n° of the preferred post office]

1234 City

Here, 1234 represents the postal number of the post office. The correct street address can be found online.^[35]

Thailand

In Thailand, only a destination post office with a storage facility for poste restante will offer this service. Senders should write Poste restante at ______ Post Office (Thai: รอจ่าย ไปรษณีย์______ or รอจ่าย ปณ.______) or Poste restante at a destination Post Office (the second instance will place the mail at the distributional post office nearest to the recipient's address) after the name of the recipient. For example.

Mr. Meedee Khonthai (Name of recipient must match Official ID or Passport)

Poste restante at Phasi Charoen Post Office, 10160

+66xx-xxx-xxxx

or

Mr. Meedee Khonthai (Name of recipient must match Official ID or Passport)

Poste restante at a destination Post Office,

Bang Khae Nuea, Bang Khae

Bangkok, Thailand 10160

+66xx-xxx-xxxx

or in the Thai language:

นายมีดี คนไทย (Name of recipient must match Official ID or Passport)

รอจ่าย ไปรษณีย์ภาษีเจริญ

แขวงบางแคเหนือ เขตบางแค

กรุงเทพฯ 10160

+66xx-xxx-xxxx

There is a small amount of storage fee (1–2 Thai baht) when picking up the mail or parcel. The recipient must track the delivery status themselves via the tracking number provided. Accordingly, it is recommended to deliver using registered mail or EMS as the regular mail delivery service does not provide a tracking number.^{[36][better source needed]}

Turkey

For Istanbul, the main parcel and post restante office is in Sirkeci, a few minutes walk from the Sirkeci tram stop.

Name of recipient as appears on Passport or Official ID

Post Restante (in large and clear letters)

PTT Baş Müdürlüğü,

Hobyar Mahallesi,

Yeni Postane Caddesi No.25,

Sirkeci, Istanbul

^[37]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, mail is addressed to POSTE RESTANTE (or TO BE CALLED FOR), which is written after the full name of the recipient (as appears on the identification to be presented e.g. a passport, if abroad), then the name and full address of the destination post office, thus:

Mr. John Smith

POSTE RESTANTE

Islington Post Office

160-161 Upper Street

London N1 1US

If only addressed to a town name, for example "POSTE RESTANTE, LONDON", mail will go to the closest main post office branch (there being more than a hundred crown offices – directly managed post office branches – in London).^[38] Some small branches do not offer the poste restante service.

The sender should also include their return address. In the United Kingdom, the Royal Mail will hold mail posted from within the UK for two weeks,^[39] whereas mail posted from abroad is normally held for one month.^[39] If the recipient is at sea, however, it will be held for two months.^[40] Where mail is not collected within that time, it will be returned to the sender, or if there is no sender indicated, will be treated as undeliverable. If the sender would like uncollected mail returned sooner, they can indicate this on the envelope. Timescales vary from country to country according to local practice.

United States

In the United States, the U.S. Postal Service uses the term General Delivery. Mail for general delivery to recipients in the United States is addressed in the following fashion:^[41]

JOHN DOE

GENERAL DELIVERY

WASHINGTON DC 20090-9999

General delivery is normally available at only one facility under the administration of a post office with multiple facilities. Post offices that hold mail for general delivery may hold such mail for up to 30 days.^[42] When sending to general delivery, the optional add-on code is -9999.^[41]